Life-raft.



UNITED STATES.

PATENT O -Ion.

GEORGE sfrHrLLrrs; or :racxsorrvrmaa, FLORIDA LIFERAFT.

To all whom it mag/concern."

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. MoGo'rrnu, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Jacksonville, county of Duval, State of Florida,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in" Life-Rafts, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to life rafts such as are used onvessels to aidin the escape of the occupants in case-of shipwreck or other accidents.7.

Ithas been my purpose to make a raft which will. have the requisitebuoyancy, which will stand exposure to weather without deteriorating andbecoming useless and which will include means-for safe-guarding againstany such injury as will cause it to IFig. 3; and Fig.@ is a'planview' ofthe sink. e

The novel features of the invention will be. apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawings.

In the drawings:- Figural. is across Qction of a device embodying myinvention "taken on the line 1'--1 of Fig. 2; Fig. -2 1s a'longitudinalsection on the line 2-2 of device.

As shown in these drawings my raftincludes a main body portion 1 made ofnoncorrodible metal and including water-tight compartments ashereinafter described, an outer casing 2 made of .wood and anintermediate packing or layer 3 of buoyant ma.- .terialsuch as cork lifepreserv'ers.

The b dy portion is preferably made rectangular in form as shown, andits, bottom is made up of double separated walls 4 and 5 leaving an airspace between them, and at the. center.

of the-raft there isan o-p'en1ng 6 through these bottom plates forthe'purpose'of drainage, The air-tight chamber 'inelosed by the bottomplates is preferably dividedinto separate "compartments by partitions,such. as the partitions 7 and 8 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3extending from the central opening 6 to the side walls. The purpose h ofseparating the compartments by watertight partitions will be obvious tothose skilled in the art, and it will be clear that if one compartmentleaks the others may remain water tight and thus support the raft.-Around" the margins of the bottom plate 5 I place. the upwardlyextending spaced'double walls? and 10 having a cover I specification ofLetters Patent. Application filed, April 7, 1911. sem No. 619,599.

of the outer casing.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

plate 11 extending across from the top of the plate 9 and connectingwith'the plate 1-0 so'as to form a water-tight space around the sides ofthe raft above the bottom. This space is divided into separatecompartments by partitions 12 and 13 shown in dotted lines in Fig.3,'and it will be understood that additional-divisions may be made'ifdesired.v All of the parts above described are made of non-corrodiblemetal such, for instance, as copper, and I make the joints between theseveral plates formingt-his body portio n:by brazing or other means not1ncluding the use of solder, since the soldered oint in a device of thiskind is apt to become leaky. The side pl'ates lO extend above the top ofthe plates 9 so as to form 'a rim around the raft and, this extension isstrengthened byxa strip-14 around its top. preferably made of wood, andimmediately above.the platell holes 15 are preferably provided atintervals for the purpose of drainage.

The outer casing 2-is preferably made of wood, such as spruce, and it isin box-like form fitting around the main body portion with a small spacebetween. It includes the bottom plate 16 which is smooth, but which maybefprovided with holes at intervals to permit the escape of waterthrough the side walls 17 and the end walls 18., Between this outercasing and'the main body portion I place a. filling of buoyant materialsuch as cork, and this cork may for protection be covered with; wirenett-ing.-. I may use as the filling material a series of my lifepreservers, such as disclosed in my Patent No.

98 ),172, dated April 11, 1911, in which sections of cork'are coveredwith copper wire gauze. Thecork packingis not only buoyant and thustends .to support the-raft, but it constitutes a good butter orprotection for the inner metal body portion preventing injuryto it dueto collisions with other things such as floating wreckage. The bodyportion 1 is secured in place within the outer casing-2 by means ofbolts 19having hooked upper ends 20 extending over trlpe't'op edge ofthe side plate=10 and havi g. a screwthreaded nut 21 below thebottdinplate 16 It will be observed that these bolts'can be loosened so. as toremove the main body port-ion -1- br niay be tightened to properly holdit in position.

With each end of the casing 2 I preferably provide an extension 22coming to a point so as to give 'to the raft more or less of a boat-likeform and so that it will not present a square end to the action of thewaves.

Along the center of the raft at the bottom, I place a keel 23, and in acut-away portion in the center of the keel I place a fresh water metaltank .24 of practically the same width as the keel so that itconstitutes part of the keel. An outer facing 01' board25 is placedoverthe tank 24 as a protection and extends from one end of the raft tothe other constituting the outer face of the keel. A pum 26 extendsdownthrough the-raft into the resh water tank 24: in the keel so as todrawl up water for the use of the passengers on the, raft. It will .beobserved that the fresh water tank being inthe keel is'nornially underwater and consequently the weightof the fresh water does not have anytendency to make the raft sink.

In order-to remove any water which may, by an accident to the device,leak into the lower compartmenflover the floor of the raftI make use ofa pump 27 'which may be connected to valved pipe connections 28 leadingdown into the lower compartment. On the inner side of the uppercompartment formed-by the side walls 9 and 10 I placevalved. outlets 29at any convenieiit and suitable place so as to permit anywater which mayaccidentally enter the compartments'to be drained out; Thesecompartments being ordinarily above water may be drained by placing theweight on the raft at-one end, thus elevating the other end and allowingthe water within the compartments simply to run out of the outlet 29,thevalve being opened for that purpose or, if neces sary, these outletsmay be connected to the pump 37 so as to pump the Water out.

It will be observed that in the above construction there are a SEIICS ofa r-tight compartments which furnish a safe-guard against the sinking-ofthe raft, since if onehappens to be punctured or brokenthe othis a lightwood and the protecting casing may be strengthened by bolts 30 passingfrom one side to the other. The openin 6 in the center of.the bodyportion is ma e large enough to permit any waves or water which comeoverthe sides of the raftto pass out to the sea again being in actualconstruction 13 by 26 inches. The.

outer casing is preferably providcdin its bottom with holes to permitthe escape of this water, and it will be understood that the water willpass out through or between the cork life preservers surrounding thehole 6. By be self-bailing I Having thus described my invention what Iclaimlas new anddesire to secure by Lettors-Patent is: 1 A

' 1, In a life raft, the combination with a body portion comprising aseries of separate th-is'constrnction the raft water-tight compartmentsmade ofnon corrodible metal, of a wooden' cashig, around the sides andbottom of said body portion to-protect-the same, a lining oflife p'reservers between said casing and bpdyvportion, and means for securingsaid compartmentsin place in said} casing.

"2. A life raft com rising a unitary body portion of non-coriible metal'hav' rated double walls at. the bottom an si' es forming water-tightcompartments, a assageway being provided'through said ttom for drainagepurposes, water-tightpar-R titions connecting said separated walls toform separated air chambers or coinp'art- 'ments, and ivalved-outletsfrom said side compartments for draining the same.

3. Ali'fe raft comprising a. unitary'body' portion of noncorrodiblemetal having sepa,-- ragd double walls. throughout the bottom portionforining a water-tight air chamber the joints being brazed, a'nd'donbleside walls extending upwardly! from said bottom forming air-tightchambers, means for draining said side compartments, and means forpumping water from said bottom compartment; 4. In a ing casing fittinaround the sides and b'otlife raft. the combination with a body portionof non corrod' le me tal' com prising a series of united aterstightcom-. part-ments, of'a'removable box-like protect- I tom of said bo yportion, and-means for I securing said casing in place.

5. In a life raft the combination with a body portion of non-corrodiblemetal com,- prising a series; of connected water-tight compartments, ofaremovable box-like protecting casing fitting around the sides and bottomof said body porltionJ a of buoyant material between said=cas1ng'- andbody, and means for-securing saidcasing in place.

6. In a body portion of non-corro'dible metalcomprising a series "ofwater-ti ht 'compart" life raft the combination with a l cured'along thebottom of said casing as a keel, and meansjor protecting said tank.

7. In a lifcraft in combination a unitary body portion consisting of aseries .of watertight, compartments, and a detachable protccting casingsubstantially like the body portion in contour and inclosing the sidesand bottom of said body portion.

8. In a life raft the combination with a body port-ion comprising aseries of water tight compartments, of a protecting casing fittingaround the sides and bottom of said body portion, means for detachablyconnecting said body portion and casing, a keel and a water tank securedbelow the body portion intermediate the ends of the keel andconstituting a portion thereof.

9. In a life raft the combination with a unitary body structurecomprising water tight compartments, of a detachable protecting casingfitting around a portion of said body, a keel having a portion thereofcut away and a water tank seated Within said cutaway portion.

10. In a life raft, in combination, a unitary body portion consisting ofa series of water tight compartments, a detachable protecting casingfitting around the sides and bottom of said body portion and a lining ofbuoyant material between said casing and body portion.

. 11. In a life raft, the combination witha unitary body'portioncomprising a series of water tight compartments, of a detachableprotecting casing fitting around the sides and bottom of said bodyportion, a linin ot' buoyant material between the casing and bodyportion, a keel having a portion thereof cut away and a Water tankseated Within said cutaway portion.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Joan M. C011", ARTHUR L. BRYANT.

